I Wish I'd Said That . . . (continued)

The most puzzling New England legend that originated simply by a statement is the legend of Molly Stark. Puzzling, because Molly never said anything that's recorded or did anything of note. However, her husband, New Hampshire General John Stark, said and did a lot of things. It was just before the Revolutionary War battle of Bennington, Vermont -- fought just over the Vermont line in New York State by mostly New Hampshire soldiers -- that John Stark unknowingly made Molly into a legend. "There are the Red Coats," was his battle cry, "and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow."

Then, along with Vermont's Seth Warner and Samuel Herrick, he went on to a decisive victory over the British, a victory that contributed significantly to Burgoyne's subsequent surrender at Saratoga two months later. Stark was also a hero at the Battle of Bunker Hill and is said to be the originator of New Hampshire's state motto, "Live Free or Die."

But no one remembers poor John Stark for any of that......Now, Molly is something else again. For reasons never fully explained by anyone, Molly Stark is really big in New England today. The road between Brattleboro and Bennington, Vermont, is called the Molly Stark Trail. A Bennington school bear Molly's name. There is a Molly Stark State Park, a Molly Stark Hospital, Molly Stark gift shops and restaurants and streets and motels and almost every commercial venture you can think of, all named Molly Stark.

"Who was this Molly Stark?" There's not really much to tell. She was born Elizabeth Page in 1737 in Haverhill, Massachusetts; she married John in 1758; they had eleven children; she was a good, courageous pioneer farm wife, and in 1814, she finally turned the tables on that stirring battle cry that made her a legend, and John Stark sadly slept a widower.

Source: Judson Hale, Inside New England, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1982.